Related Names

Item Details

Farewell (Abschied)

Gunther, Egon; Kanopy (Firm)

Format

Video; Streaming Video; Online

Summary

In August 1914, many young German men euphorically volunteer to join the army. But in Munich Hans Gastl, the son of a militaristic state prosecutor, makes a decision: he won't become a soldier or fight this war. What Hans wants is to change his life, to abandon his class status, his family; but he is not sure where to start. The film tells the story of Hans' upbringing in flashbacks: his tender love for the housemaid, which is brutally repressed by his father; his time at a boarding school for difficult youth; his friendship with a Jew and a worker's son. East German officials criticized this film's cinematic style and withdraw it from wider release after its premiere.

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In August 1914, many young German men euphorically volunteer to join the army. But in Munich Hans Gastl, the son of a militaristic state prosecutor, makes a decision: he won't become a soldier or fight this war. What Hans wants is to change his life, to abandon his class status, his family; but he is not sure where to start. The film tells the story of Hans' upbringing in flashbacks: his tender love for the housemaid, which is brutally repressed by his father; his time at a boarding school for difficult youth; his friendship with a Jew and a worker's son. East German officials criticized this film's cinematic style and withdraw it from wider release after its premiere.